I've really spent a lot of cash on gear this winter. That's partly because I sold a load of clutter on ebay and ended up with cash (I have a rule - the proceeds of selling clutter is 'self indulgence money' unless I really need it for something urgently), and partly because I wanted to make my winter training more pleasant.
One thing I've been chasing for a while is a decent packable mid layer. The montane fireball is unbelievably warm and packable, but that's the problem. It's far too warm. The fireball is a 'depths of a snowy winter' or 'shagged my ankle and got to hop/catch the bus home' article. It's not a 'brr, turning a bit chilly, think I need a bit more insulation' thing.
I'd been using spare long sleeved baselayers for this for years, and then I was reading the kit list for the lakeland 100 (out of curiousity - really, it's not happening. No.) and found a requirement to carry a dedicated mid layer (specifically not a 2nd base layer). That set me researching the merits of different mid layers.
I tried a couple of fleeces, but the problem is they're completely non-windproof, and worst of all they're really bulky. I did end up with a couple of uber squishy comfy fleeces for general wear whilst experimenting though. Then by chance, browsing in Cotswold, I saw a Rab Boreas. They only had it in blue (not a favoured colour) and my parking meter was about to run out, so I hopped it and did some research on line.
I ended up with a Ventus (Boreas without the hood). And then another, a week later. Yes, I was impressed. It packs down titchy (into it's own pocket), maybe half the size of the fireball and while it's not /warm/, it's warm enough for running. Pretty much exactly what I was looking for.
It's basically a thin softshell. No waterproofing, but very windproof, and very breathable. Over-length sleeves with thumb holes provide just-enough hand warmth when you don't want to bother getting gloves/mitts out. The half length zip provides excellent venting for a range of temperatures. Not being waterproof, it can just go in the washing machine along with the rest of the stinky mud covered running gear, instead of buggering about with techwash and txdirect.
One or other of them has been out with me on pretty much every run since. Definitely a useful bit of gear.
Saturday, 28 March 2015
Friday, 9 January 2015
New Years resolution runners.
It's the time of year that people start running as a new years resolution, to lose some weight and get fitter. For many, they'll do the wrong thing and end up gaining weight or just lose heart because it seems too hard. If you're one of the people getting started, here's a few things that might help:
Click here for a tale of someone who's lost a load of weight and hugely improved his health in his first year of running.
- to start with (and I mean for at least a few months) run slowly, or even just walk. If you're working too hard, you're burning glycogen not fat. That will make you hungry, without losing any body fat. To learn more about how this works, read up about heart rate zones.
- if you don't have enough spare breath to talk, you're overdoing it: slow down.
- muscle weighs more than fat - if you gain weight but look and feel better, don't worry about what the scales say.
- try running on your toes/balls of your feet instead of landing on your heels - it puts less strain on your joints.
- Don't worry about going slow and not going far. It takes time to build up, and no one is going to think bad of you - you're out there running, just like the rest of us.
Click here for a tale of someone who's lost a load of weight and hugely improved his health in his first year of running.
Thursday, 8 January 2015
Gear Porn: Paramo Velez Adventure Light for running
As per an earlier post, I've changed the gear I wear for night time winter running lately. Last night was the first really crappy night I'd run in it. Since there's not much useful information around on using the new generation of lightweight Paramo waterproofs for running, I thought I'd try and fill the gap a bit.
I like Paramo gear - it's not cheap, but their ethical credentials are good, their customer service is excellent, and it lasts just about forever. It's a bit generously sized for my skinny runner build, but you can't have everything.
Morning:
10km run into work starting just before dawn (8am). Wearing Ron Hill lycra shorts, very thin Rab base layer, paramo, rab aleutian gloves, sealskin waterproof socks & vivo running shoes. Temperature when I set out was about 5 deg centigrade, light breeze.
I was on the warm side of comfortable for most of the way with the vent zips open, mostly when climbing. A little sweaty, but only a little warmer than I'm used to.
Evening:
15km run home with 600m of ascent in 2 climbs. Same gear but Buffalo mitts instead of the gloves.
The weather last night got properly toss. Nominally 7 deg C, 70kph winds at 400m and heavy (horizontal) rain. To start with I was on the warm side, until I cleared the village and got out in the wind. By the time I hit the top of the moor at 410m I had all zips shut, it was blowing 40kph with light rain, and I was nice and comfortable.
It got worse.
By the time I'd dropped to the valley bottom and climbed the other side onto Windgate Nick, the rain was properly heavy, the wind was up to 60kph plus, and I was just about warm enough. I couldn't run on the top due to buffeting/head wind. I wouldn't have wanted to stay up there for more than 20 minutes or so without adding a layer, although I think just putting a buff on would have been enough for safety, if not comfort.
I was unsure about how the jacket was going to go - Paramo waterproofs tend to be on the toasty side so running in one was always going to be a 'try it and see'. I'd consider it a qualified success:
Yes it's relatively heavy, and only really suitable for winter conditions. But because you can handle a much wider range of temperatures/conditions by careful venting, you don't need to carry as much gear. For what I was after (making longer evening training runs in bad winter weather more comfortable) it's exactly right. In the spring it'll go in the cupboard and I'll go back to softshell/windproof and a taped seam waterproof in the bag when I have to.
Note: for comparison, it's about as warm as a Montane Fireball.
Update 27/2/15: this was first written at the beginning of January. It's now the end of Feb, so the VAL has had more use.
About the end of Jan the jacket started to wet out easily, so I washed it in techwash. It was fine for another 2 weeks, but then started to wet out a bit so I ran it through again and reproofed it with tx-direct. That made it good as new. I can live with reproofing a couple of times each winter, to be a lot more comfortable on the long slow night time runs that make up the bulk of my winter training.
Last week I decided to leave it at home - it was a little warmer, perhaps 7 deg and no wind to speak of. Instead I used a thin marmot softshell and a Fuera windproof. That turned out to be a mistake - the last hour of a 24km/600m run was cold and damp and nasty. This week, back to the VAL with a temperature of 5deg and wind of 20kph and I was toasty warm. The weather turned properly crap towards the end - sideways rain and no visibility to speak of. I was wearing a Rab Aeon base layer (very, very thin) under the VAL, and I'd have been happy to be a bit warmer in the last 30 minutes. Up to then I was fine. The visibility forced me to slow right off, and that's something that would have been a problem in a different coat as relayering would have been needed.
Still well impressed. I'd use a full weight Velez for walking (as I did last weekend, when it rained then snowed horizontally), but the lighter VAL is perfect for long slow runs in the cold, rain and wind.
I like Paramo gear - it's not cheap, but their ethical credentials are good, their customer service is excellent, and it lasts just about forever. It's a bit generously sized for my skinny runner build, but you can't have everything.
Morning:
10km run into work starting just before dawn (8am). Wearing Ron Hill lycra shorts, very thin Rab base layer, paramo, rab aleutian gloves, sealskin waterproof socks & vivo running shoes. Temperature when I set out was about 5 deg centigrade, light breeze.
I was on the warm side of comfortable for most of the way with the vent zips open, mostly when climbing. A little sweaty, but only a little warmer than I'm used to.
Evening:
15km run home with 600m of ascent in 2 climbs. Same gear but Buffalo mitts instead of the gloves.
The weather last night got properly toss. Nominally 7 deg C, 70kph winds at 400m and heavy (horizontal) rain. To start with I was on the warm side, until I cleared the village and got out in the wind. By the time I hit the top of the moor at 410m I had all zips shut, it was blowing 40kph with light rain, and I was nice and comfortable.
It got worse.
By the time I'd dropped to the valley bottom and climbed the other side onto Windgate Nick, the rain was properly heavy, the wind was up to 60kph plus, and I was just about warm enough. I couldn't run on the top due to buffeting/head wind. I wouldn't have wanted to stay up there for more than 20 minutes or so without adding a layer, although I think just putting a buff on would have been enough for safety, if not comfort.
I was unsure about how the jacket was going to go - Paramo waterproofs tend to be on the toasty side so running in one was always going to be a 'try it and see'. I'd consider it a qualified success:
- Temperature control is fine using the vent zips handles temperatures up to 7 or 8 deg Centigrade with no wind. Any more than that, it's going to be much too warm. (handy hint - fasten up the neck press stud to keep your hood up when it's windy and raining, then you can open the zip to provide venting).
- Below that temperature, it can handle a very large range of conditions without needing to layer/delayer. Much more so than anything else I've tried.
- I found that the hood snugged neatly around my face with the drawcords. I've never managed to do that really well with any other jacket, and it makes wearing a hood much less irritating.
- That makes it ideal for changeable (grim) weather. Exactly what UK upland winter conditions throw at you.
Yes it's relatively heavy, and only really suitable for winter conditions. But because you can handle a much wider range of temperatures/conditions by careful venting, you don't need to carry as much gear. For what I was after (making longer evening training runs in bad winter weather more comfortable) it's exactly right. In the spring it'll go in the cupboard and I'll go back to softshell/windproof and a taped seam waterproof in the bag when I have to.
Note: for comparison, it's about as warm as a Montane Fireball.
Update 27/2/15: this was first written at the beginning of January. It's now the end of Feb, so the VAL has had more use.
About the end of Jan the jacket started to wet out easily, so I washed it in techwash. It was fine for another 2 weeks, but then started to wet out a bit so I ran it through again and reproofed it with tx-direct. That made it good as new. I can live with reproofing a couple of times each winter, to be a lot more comfortable on the long slow night time runs that make up the bulk of my winter training.
Last week I decided to leave it at home - it was a little warmer, perhaps 7 deg and no wind to speak of. Instead I used a thin marmot softshell and a Fuera windproof. That turned out to be a mistake - the last hour of a 24km/600m run was cold and damp and nasty. This week, back to the VAL with a temperature of 5deg and wind of 20kph and I was toasty warm. The weather turned properly crap towards the end - sideways rain and no visibility to speak of. I was wearing a Rab Aeon base layer (very, very thin) under the VAL, and I'd have been happy to be a bit warmer in the last 30 minutes. Up to then I was fine. The visibility forced me to slow right off, and that's something that would have been a problem in a different coat as relayering would have been needed.
Still well impressed. I'd use a full weight Velez for walking (as I did last weekend, when it rained then snowed horizontally), but the lighter VAL is perfect for long slow runs in the cold, rain and wind.
Monday, 22 December 2014
Winter Night Running
I've just had a bit of a spell off running, for medical reasons. Turns out I'm fine, just had to be checked. While I've been loafing around and getting fat, the seasons have changed and once again North Yorkshire is a world of gales and constant rain. Great.
From November through to about March, at least half my training takes place at night. I tend to run a longish one mid week - 25 to 30km in the evening, on top of 10km in the morning (to work the short way, then home by a roundabout route). In the winter months, that means leaving work at 5.30pm, getting home any time up to about 9pm. It's dark, cold, and frequently very, very wet.
Sometimes it takes me a while to work out the bleeding obvious, and this is one of those occasions. I've been doing this for years, and it's never struck me that "night time wet weather running" is different to "running equipped for the dark and the rain". It's a difference of intention: going out for a daytime run that might run over into dark is very different from setting out with the intention of running 30km in the dark and rain. In the first case, the rain shell and warm mid layer are there in the rucksack, and if you really need them it's just towards the end when the shortcomings aren't obvious.
Setting out to run in the winter dark is a different thing. On dozens of long hard training runs on winter evenings I've got to about 15km and started to feel cold, damp and miserable. The combination of tiredness, mild hypoglycaemia (running morning and evening with work in between burns through the calories more than you'd think), and the cold clamminess of condensation inside a waterproof is depressing and foul, and that's a bad thing halfway through a run. It's really easy to underestimate how much the temperature drops when the sun goes down. So as part of replacing various bits of kit this year I decided to address the shortcomings of my winter training kit.
1) Coat
During the bulk of the year I'll run in a base layer, with maybe a softshell over the top, and maybe a wind shirt in the rain or up on the tops. That's ok in winter too during the day, for short runs at least. In really heavy weather a rain shell is needed, otherwise the speed of water exchange will make you cold very quickly. At night the problem is the same but *much* worse - it's much colder, and possibly still wet. After much consideration I've gone for a lightweight paramo for this. I probably wouldn't wear it in a daytime race, unless it was really very cold, but for training it makes the winter much less horrible. The big kangaroo pocket is fantastic for fleece hat, mittens and buff*.
2) Gloves
Thin gloves tend to be ok during the day, but at night when it's cold and windy and rainy, soaking wet gloves means cold hands. I've gone for Buffalo mittens now and they're extraordinary things - lightweight, compact and very very warm. A bit too warm, most of the time. They dry out reasonably quick if you turn them inside out, but they tend to stay a bit damp longer than fleece gloves (but they're warm when damp). Like the paramo, too warm for all but the coldest daytime runs, but fantastic at night.
3) Socks
Most of the year I won't bother with socks under running shoes (I run in barefoot shoes anyway). Ankle deep water on the moors in winter makes for painfully cold feet though, and that slightly numb feeling that makes foot placement chancy. Waterproof socks solves that one, and even though they can't really stand up to the rigours of fell running and spring a leak fairly quickly, they slow down the transfer of water enough to keep your feet good and warm. I have an old pair of sealskins I've run in for years. They're not waterproof, but they're near enough.
4) Leg cover
This isn't so crucial, although I tend to go into lycra over the winter, and for the longer runs I've just got some 3/4 length running tights. The Ron Hills sometimes come out when it's *really* cold, but actually they're a bit of a nuisance in wet weather so I'm trying to avoid them.
5) Torch
A good head torch is vital for off road running in the dark. I have a Petzl myo xp that I've had for years. It's stood up to regular hard use for a long time, and is comfortably bright. I can't run full speed with it, but it's adequate. There are better alternatives around these days.
* good for maps too, but I don't recce away from habitual routes at night in the winter.
From November through to about March, at least half my training takes place at night. I tend to run a longish one mid week - 25 to 30km in the evening, on top of 10km in the morning (to work the short way, then home by a roundabout route). In the winter months, that means leaving work at 5.30pm, getting home any time up to about 9pm. It's dark, cold, and frequently very, very wet.
Sometimes it takes me a while to work out the bleeding obvious, and this is one of those occasions. I've been doing this for years, and it's never struck me that "night time wet weather running" is different to "running equipped for the dark and the rain". It's a difference of intention: going out for a daytime run that might run over into dark is very different from setting out with the intention of running 30km in the dark and rain. In the first case, the rain shell and warm mid layer are there in the rucksack, and if you really need them it's just towards the end when the shortcomings aren't obvious.
Setting out to run in the winter dark is a different thing. On dozens of long hard training runs on winter evenings I've got to about 15km and started to feel cold, damp and miserable. The combination of tiredness, mild hypoglycaemia (running morning and evening with work in between burns through the calories more than you'd think), and the cold clamminess of condensation inside a waterproof is depressing and foul, and that's a bad thing halfway through a run. It's really easy to underestimate how much the temperature drops when the sun goes down. So as part of replacing various bits of kit this year I decided to address the shortcomings of my winter training kit.
1) Coat
During the bulk of the year I'll run in a base layer, with maybe a softshell over the top, and maybe a wind shirt in the rain or up on the tops. That's ok in winter too during the day, for short runs at least. In really heavy weather a rain shell is needed, otherwise the speed of water exchange will make you cold very quickly. At night the problem is the same but *much* worse - it's much colder, and possibly still wet. After much consideration I've gone for a lightweight paramo for this. I probably wouldn't wear it in a daytime race, unless it was really very cold, but for training it makes the winter much less horrible. The big kangaroo pocket is fantastic for fleece hat, mittens and buff*.
2) Gloves
Thin gloves tend to be ok during the day, but at night when it's cold and windy and rainy, soaking wet gloves means cold hands. I've gone for Buffalo mittens now and they're extraordinary things - lightweight, compact and very very warm. A bit too warm, most of the time. They dry out reasonably quick if you turn them inside out, but they tend to stay a bit damp longer than fleece gloves (but they're warm when damp). Like the paramo, too warm for all but the coldest daytime runs, but fantastic at night.
3) Socks
Most of the year I won't bother with socks under running shoes (I run in barefoot shoes anyway). Ankle deep water on the moors in winter makes for painfully cold feet though, and that slightly numb feeling that makes foot placement chancy. Waterproof socks solves that one, and even though they can't really stand up to the rigours of fell running and spring a leak fairly quickly, they slow down the transfer of water enough to keep your feet good and warm. I have an old pair of sealskins I've run in for years. They're not waterproof, but they're near enough.
4) Leg cover
This isn't so crucial, although I tend to go into lycra over the winter, and for the longer runs I've just got some 3/4 length running tights. The Ron Hills sometimes come out when it's *really* cold, but actually they're a bit of a nuisance in wet weather so I'm trying to avoid them.
5) Torch
A good head torch is vital for off road running in the dark. I have a Petzl myo xp that I've had for years. It's stood up to regular hard use for a long time, and is comfortably bright. I can't run full speed with it, but it's adequate. There are better alternatives around these days.
* good for maps too, but I don't recce away from habitual routes at night in the winter.
Tuesday, 14 October 2014
New atlatl darts
Sunday afternoon I went out for a spot of archery and atlatlery. I took 3 new darts, courtesy of Nottingham atlatl - 2 titans and a 'scorpion' - a short, very lightweight dart.
You can see the scorpion against the normal darts here:
It was a beautiful day to be out, and I learned some handy lessons:
You can see the scorpion against the normal darts here:
It was a beautiful day to be out, and I learned some handy lessons:
- The scorpion is really light. This means that it travels far and fast, but technique is crucial - even more so than a conventional dart. If you give it too much welly it just goes off to one side. It looks like regular practice with this will really improve my technique.
- One of the titans is plastic wrapped like my other darts (Nottingham Atlatl offers some kind of waterproof shrink wrap on darts to protect and strengthen them), and the other isn't. The plastic wrapped darts are much stronger and hard wearing, but heavier, and don't fly so well. The dart without wrapping flexes much more in the air, and just feels nicer to throw. But
it's more susceptible to damage. - The tips of my old darts were a bit battered and gnarled. Before this week my target had been a bike tyre attached to two heavy duty metal poles tied together at the top, and the metal had battered the ends of the darts. On sunday I realised that pushing two garden canes into the ground 2 feet apart and placing the bike tyre on top so the poles rest inside the tyre works much better.
2 more lessons from the long run
I was talking to a GP friend who's taken up running lately, and described the agonising stomach cramps that brought my long 2 day run to a halt. Apparently that was probably dehydration. Never been that dehydrated before - that was quite unpleasant. One to watch out for I think.
The second lesson is one about shelter. For years when lightweight camping I've favoured just a bivi bag, which is perfectly adequate even in moderate rain, as long as you're warm enough. It's the evening that's a problem - midges are always around unless you're up high. A bivi and bug net combination would solve that problem, but there are other problems.
Also looking at the Terra Nova Zephyr. 100g lighter, and probably a little more spacious, but without the option of only taking the mesh.
http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/tents-and-spares/all-tents/zephyros-1-tent/
The second lesson is one about shelter. For years when lightweight camping I've favoured just a bivi bag, which is perfectly adequate even in moderate rain, as long as you're warm enough. It's the evening that's a problem - midges are always around unless you're up high. A bivi and bug net combination would solve that problem, but there are other problems.
- Many mosquito nets are not small enough mesh to keep midges out, and
- Almost all are designed to be draped over a bed or similar, so they have an open bottom. Since midges rise up out of the ground like tiny flying zombies, this probably won't keep them out.
http://www.brettschneider.co.uk/floor%20mosquito%20nets.html
The small wedge net would be nice, except that a) it doesn't give you much space to move around, and b) the mesh won't keep midges out. The pyramid net looks promising, but would need something to prop it up. The pyramid net weighs 700g though, so combined with a 400g or more bivi, it's more than a kilo with no poles. Might as well carry a tent. It would be a nice big bug free space though.
http://www.borahgear.com/bugbivy.html - this would need a more substantial bivi in heavier weather, but is very light indeed.
http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/tarps-bivis-bothies/all-tarps/bivi-tarp/ - a bit more expensive, but being terra nova it's very light. Plus it has a pole.
Current favourite is the Snugpak ionosphere. It's a one man tent, but a bit bigger than my Vango Ultralite 2 man tent. It weighs about the same, but it's 2 layer, and the inner can be carried on it's own. That makes a free standing bug net weighing around a kilo. In worse weather the flysheet can go in too. It's Snugpak, so probably bombproof, and I live near the factory, so returns are easy in case of problems, plus it's money into my local economy.
Also looking at the Terra Nova Zephyr. 100g lighter, and probably a little more spacious, but without the option of only taking the mesh.
http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/tents-and-spares/all-tents/zephyros-1-tent/
Monday, 22 September 2014
Flint projectile point
I was at a loose end for an hour on saturday. It was a nice sunny day, so I sat on an upturned plant pot in the garden and played with flint for a while. I'm not very good at this, I don't really practice enough, but it's always interesting to experiment.
Digging around in my flint pile, I found a lump of cortex covered flint that a friend brought back from the seaside. After a few handfuls of sharp gravel due to frost damage, a good thwack with a 1kg hammerstone took a nice 2.5cm Levallois flake off. It would probably have been usable as a projectile point without any further work, but that's not what I was looking for.
Ten minutes of percussion flaking with a small hammerstone shaped the point a bit more symmetrically, and took a few parallel flakes from the edge to the ridge, but didn't thin it out at all. Since I was aiming for Solutrean, that was a bit of a fail.
I figured out later whilst mentally running through the process what had gone wrong, and it was the usual - I hadn't worked out what I was trying to do. Flint knapping consists of 3 steps for every single strike:
- Work out what you want to take off
- Work out how to do it
- Do it
Then struck the platform to fracture roughly along the red line.
and continued to do that along the edge of the flake.
It's easy for modern humans to look at flint artefacts and think they look rough, and unsophisticated. Intentionally shaping flint is extremely difficult, especially with percussion only, and learning how takes reflection and understanding as well as physical skill. While I intellectually knew that human cognitive ability probably hasn't really changed in tens of thousands of years, nothing brings it home like trying to work flint.
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